Prelates lead a protest in Abuja, Nigeria, over unending killings of Nigerians. Photo: CNS/Afolabi Sotunde, Reuters The pioneer bishop of Nigeria’s Diocese of Katsina said the young diocese is building its future around the vision of becoming a “creative minority,” seeking to transform society through education, faith formation, interreligious dialogue, and witness rather than being discouraged by its small Catholic population.
Speaking to ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, at the August 3–8 SIGNIS World Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, Bishop Gerald Mamman Musa said the diocese, erected in October 2023, has chosen to focus on its mission instead of dwelling on the challenges Christians in northwestern Nigeria are facing.
“Even though Katsina has a small population of Christians or Catholics, we want to be a creative minority,” Musa said, explaining that Catholics should resist defining themselves by their numerical weakness or the hardships they face.
“Sometimes we can be lamenting about the fact that we are very few. We can be lamenting about the fact that we are oppressed, persecuted, or discriminated against. We must not focus on all those negatives,” he said.
Instead, he urged Catholics to ask, “What can we do in this society? How can we, few as we are, change society positively?” adding that the concept of a creative minority is rooted in investing in people through education and formation so they can become agents of transformation.
Illustrating that vision, Musa, who serves as the president of the Commission for Social Communications of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), cited a Sudanese proverb on the role of parents.
“The role of parents is to give children two things: to give them roots and to give them wings. Roots to know where they are coming from, to know their faith, to know their values, and then wings to empower them to be role models within the society,” the bishop said.
Musa, who was consecrated a bishop in December 2023, said that laying a solid foundation has been the dioceseʼs immediate priority since its creation. He recalled that the diocese adopted a 10-year strategic plan during its first general assembly to guide its pastoral mission.
“Our main task is to set the foundation. Setting the foundation, what I consider paramount and probably the greatest need of the diocese, is concentrating on children and youth,” the bishop told ACI Africa.
Education, he added, remains central to that vision, particularly for children who cannot afford schooling.
“We have a responsibility to send more children to school, especially those who are not able to afford education. My biggest pastoral need now is to set up a secondary school for girls, where they can get a very good faith formation,” Musa said.